1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to aliphatic hydrocarbon recovery systems for stripper wells. More particularly, but not by way of limitation, the present invention relates to a stripper device for extracting aliphatic hydrocarbons from a well in an operational position and featuring a pivot element for rendering a lubricator assembly apart from the wellhead in an access position whereby, for example, a dipper assembly having an interchangeable fishing neck assembly may be retrieved from downhole for servicing while in the access position.
2. Description of Related Art
Aliphatic hydrocarbons, which include petroleum and natural gases, are the most important energy source today and also serve as the raw materials for chemical products that markedly enhance the “standard of living” within developed populations. As a type of fossil fuel, aliphatic hydrocarbons are a limited natural resource whereby a growing demand for energy by rapidly emerging industrialized nations aggregated with the significant energy needs from established information-age societies has made the advent of global peak oil production eminent. Accordingly, several governmental initiatives throughout the world are presently directed toward clean energy and highly managed systems of localized hydrocarbon production in lieu of importation. Today, as fossil fuels continue to become more difficult to extract and market prices for petroleum and other hydrocarbons continue to dramatically increase, there exists a greater interest in off-shore production and reclamation of stripper wells.
In recent years, marginal or “stripper” wells are becoming more common in long established oil and gas producing regions as these natural resource reserves near the end of their economically useful life. Generally, as in one illustration, a stripper well may produce an average of less than twenty barrels of oil per day of which the majority of all petroleum wells within the continental United States are presently classified as stripper wells.
Commonly, in one illustration, a stripper well includes a pumpjack coupled to a wellhead to facilitate the extraction of fossil fuels from the well. However, many problems arise with utilizing a pumpjack on a marginally producing well in that pumpjacks are ideally designed for production activity within highly productive fields. For example, if not vigilantly attended to, a pumpjack may overwork a marginal well too fast to thus draw too much saltwater or even deplete the hydrocarbons therefrom without a natural recharge period. Unfortunately, operating pumpjacks with stripper wells also typically includes significant expenses of legal saltwater disposal and obtaining equipment for retrieving and servicing the sucker rods, pump, and mechanical truing of various well components in the frequent event of wear as well as the possible need to washout sand and other nearby debris from the casing.
Sustained operation of each stripper well is economically tenuous. Illustratively, a stripper well operators' profit varies dramatically depending on the market price of fossil fuels as well as operating costs. At times, to the detriment of polluting the nearby environment, well operators are faced with abandoning or “orphaning” a stripper well in that the stripper well is not profitable and the operator cannot afford well plugging service fees for properly retiring the well.
Unfortunately, there is no known device or method for providing sustained operation of a marginal aliphatic hydrocarbon well while providing ease of servicing. Therefore, a need exists for a system and method for extracting aliphatic hydrocarbons from a wellhead in an operational position and features a pivot element for rendering a lubricator pipe apart from the wellhead in an access position for easy entry to the wellhead for downhole servicing. There is also a need for a device and method for quickly and reliably retrieving hydrocarbon fluids from a stripper well that provides interchangeable components for ease of downhole servicing.